Experts have all predicted what would happen should the minimum wage be increased, and every time the “Fight for $15” crowd gets its way, prices are hiked and jobs are lost. Predictably, New York is currently learning this lesson the hard way.

According to the New York Post, a once growing service industry in New York is now seeing staff cuts, hours being shortened, and prices going up thanks to New York’s $15/hr minimum wage hike, and it’s not small:

A total of 76.5 percent of full-service restaurant respondents reduced employee hours, and 36 percent eliminated jobs in 2018, the survey said.

Also, 75 percent of limited-service restaurant respondents reported that they will reduce employee hours, and 53 percent will eliminate jobs in 2019 as a result of the wage increases, according to the survey.

“The results of this survey, and other industry trends, signal that a once-growing industry responsible for hundreds of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic impact has become stagnant,” said the Hospitality Alliance, who conducted the study.

These high numbers aren’t just statistics. These are people who have either watched as they are put out of work, or having their work hours cut altogether as customers become less able to afford more product and services.

The New York Post reported that the mayor’s office failed to respond with a comment, but Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office released a statement applauding the move. The office failed to mention the aforementioned problems, however.

“All New Yorkers deserve to make a living wage and under the governor’s leadership, more minimum-wage workers than ever before have received an increase in their wages,” said a spokesman for Cuomo. “The fact is that increasing the minimum wage puts more money in the pockets of hardworking New Yorkers, which creates more demand for local businesses and increases economic activity.”

Multiple studies including one done by the Employment Policies Institute found that when it comes to raising the minimum wage to $15/hr, 74 percent of economists agree that it’s a bad idea. Sadly, one doesn’t need to do a forecast to see that it’s a bad idea, as examples of it not working pop up repeatedly.

Some examples include Whole Foods, Red Robin, and Chipotle who found the hikes detrimental to employees and customers. Not even major corporations like Starbucks are free from the aches minimum wage raises bring on them, and closed stores in areas where the wage hikes were implemented.

The bottom line is that when big government works, you don’t. New York is the latest victim of the wage hikes, and likely won’t be the last.

(h/t: Daily Wire)